


now here we stand, unafraid of the future

by EllaYuki



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Feels, Gen, Hug scene, Loki POV, M/M, Missing Scene, ragnarok spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12644472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllaYuki/pseuds/EllaYuki
Summary: after the loss of their home world, loki appears before his brother instead of running away, and the warmth of thor’s hug is both unexpected and nostalgic.





	now here we stand, unafraid of the future

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently I need to clarify this. The lack of capitals is a stylistic choice. Until the years ends, all fics written by me will be like that, so if that puts you off, I'm sorry and you are more than welcome to back out now.

‘if you were here, i might even give you a hug.’

the words echo in his chest, and he knows they are his way out. he could cast an illusion now and make his exit and thor would be none the wiser. he could.  it would be so easy.

he doesn’t.

instead, he catches the bottle stopper thor throws his way. (and really, his brother should stop throwing things at people. it’s rude.) he lets a small smile grow on his face, linger there, and for once, for the first time in longer than he cares to remember, he lets his masks slip.

‘i’m here,’ he says, and the way thor smiles at him warms him to his core.

(he hasn’t seen that smile, especially directed at him, since right before thor’s ruined coronation.)

things aren’t fixed between them, neither is naïve enough to think they are, and loki still has his secrets (the reacquired tesseract, for one) that he keeps to himself. years of hurt don’t heal in a handful of days, if they ever do.

if this were another time, another boyhood squabble, he’d have grinned and spread his arms and teased, asked thor to ‘give us a kiss’ and diffuse any sort of tension. but things are no longer like that. and they are not those boys anymore.

still, he can’t help it, can’t help needling, if only just a tiny bit. it’s in his nature. ‘so?’ he asks, only half a joke. ‘where’s my hug?’ he isn’t sure whether thor will actually do it. he isn’t entirely certain as to whether he wants him to.

(that’s a lie. bold-faced, and he knows it.

still.)

something shifts in thor’s eye. it looks vulnerable. it looks dangerous. it looks… loki doesn’t know what it looks like but it makes him want to take a step back, flee. he doesn’t.

when thor approaches him, it’s not hesitant, but it’s not the eager thing it once was, either. it feels almost like indifference, and loki feels like pulling out a dagger just to make it change, just to make it into _something_.

(he has learned that he can take his brother’s ire, he can take his scorn, but he cannot stomach a thor who is indifferent to him. it almost hurts worse than mother’s disappointment.)

thor stops in front of him, silent, his one good eye searching loki’s face, assessing, and loki thinks that the most he’ll get is a pat on his shoulder (if even that) before being dismissed. a hand cupping the side of his throat and face if thor is feeling generous or nostalgic.

but as always with thor, especially of late, nothing is as loki expects it to be.

while thor’s big, warm hand does cup the side of his neck and cheek, reminding loki of happier times long passed, it doesn’t stop there like loki thought it would.

after another handful of moments, quiet, maddening, in which he does nothing but gaze at loki, thor slides the hand to the back of loki’s head, takes a fistful of raven hair, and pulls him close.

thor embraces him, and while it’s not as bone-crushing as his brother’s hugs used to be, the warmth that envelops loki is so familiar, so breathtaking, it’s enough to turn his knees into mush and make his eyes sting.

and suddenly, all the air rushes out of loki’s lungs, all strength leaves his body, and he slumps against thor, arms coming up and around his brother, hands clawing at his back. he clings, and he buries his face in thor’s neck. and if once he might have scoffed at such a show of weakness, today he needs this more than he’s ever thought he would.

thor pulls him in tighter, leans his cheek into the side of loki’s head and heaves a sigh.

‘i don’t know how long you intend to stay, brother,’ he says, a whisper, ‘but i am glad you are here, and that you are well. that i did not lose you as well.’

and really, loki doesn’t know what to say to that, doesn’t know what the future holds for him, for them, if they’ll have a long, quiet life, if thor will have an easy reign, or if they’ll die tomorrow, their people with them, before they even reach somewhere to settle down.

he doesn’t know, and for all that he normally hates not knowing, in this one moment, it doesn’t matter. he’s here, they’re here, they’re alive, and that’s all he cares about.

they’ll take on tomorrow as it comes, and the days that follow, too.

together.


End file.
